Mountaineer presents the Haunted Harv

Steve Rappach

Staff writer

Junior Beacons Alyssa Adkins and Christopher Pritt have been earning community service hours by organizing masks and costumes in preparation for the “Haunted Harv,” which opened Thursday at the Harv at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester. — Paula Vaughn

CHESTER — With Halloween right around the corner, Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort’s home for concerts and sports will become the home of shrieks, chills and things that go bump in the night.

The Beacon Association and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort have teamed up to transform the Harv into the “Haunted Harv” this Halloween season.

The Haunted Harv will be open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October. Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased at the door.

The Haunted Harv also will open its doors on Halloween night, as well as Nov. 4 when the Beacon Association holds its Haunt for a Cure event. Proceeds from the Nov. 4 date benefit the Beacons’ Relay for Life team for the American Cancer Society.

The “Haunted Harv” will feature several rooms, including the doll room, the gorilla room, the chainsaw and several additions, which, according to Beacon Association Vice President Paula Vaughn, will be part of an experience full of suspense.

“They can expect to get their pants scared off,” Vaughn said. “It will be full of surprises.”

Katie May, digital media coordinator for Mountaineer, said while coming up with new ideas for events at the Harv, her director of marketing suggested contacting a local organization for a Halloween-themed event.

May, an East Liverpool native who remembered haunted houses hosted by the now-defunct East Liverpool Jaycees, reached out to the Beacon Association, whose leadership team expressed interest, especially since the organization had taken a hiatus from haunted houses following its most-recent event in 2014.

“We wanted to basically pair up with a local organization and create something new at the Harv that we’ve never really done before,” May said. “So, we went back and forth with different ideas and we came up with the ‘Haunted Harv.’

“I’m from East Liverpool, born and raised, and I remembered growing up the Jaycees having haunted houses at the old YMCA and the old schools and stuff on Halloween and throughout October.”

Vaughn said “we hadn’t done a haunted house fundraiser in the last three years, and we just thought it was a great opportunity to join in there.”

Volunteers and Beacons have worked recently at the venue assembling and building the rooms, which Vaughn said could only start once the resort provided clearance following the recent Chester VFD Fall Bash. Once work got started, she said all involved have made a big effort.

“Everybody’s worked really hard and worked together to make sure the job’s done, and it’s going to be really successful, I think,” Vaughn said.

Most proceeds from the event, Vaughn said, will benefit the Beacon Association for its community events, which include the Special Olympics, the Tri-State Area Pottery Festival, the city cleanup day, Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society, annual East Liverpool city Christmas parade and light-up night and future projects. Beacon also provides four scholarships to local schools and assists with other area nonprofit organizations.

“Anything or any project that’s going to benefit our community and make it better, that’s generally what most of our funds go to,” Vaughn said.

The “Haunted Harv” opens at 7 p.m. each of the scheduled nights. It runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays, but will have extended hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

For information, visit either “The Fear Facility” or “The Beacon Association” on Facebook.